Destiny of Sin

_Chapter Begins_

Splattered across the dirt walls of the underground chamber below the church were all the strange symbols William had seen the last time he visited.

However… this time, they were a little different.

William walked over to the wall and stared at the symbols with a frown.

"Just what the hell do these symbols mean?"

The symbols he remembered from before were still there, sprayed across the dirt walls of the church's secret basement — but now, there were new ones. And unlike the old symbols, which were bizarre and unreadable, these new ones were much easier to understand.

The older symbols looked like how fiction writers often depicted alien languages — messy, chaotic, with curved lines, random dots, and strange wiggles. Almost like a corrupted version of Chinese characters.

But obviously… they weren't Chinese.

The new ones, however, weren't letters at all. They were drawings.

William started with the drawing closest to the ladder he came from — just in case he needed to run.

The first image showed a massive, demonic creature seated atop a black throne.

The demon was completely red, with two enormous black horns protruding from its skull.

Strangely, the figure was drawn without a face, which creeped William out more than he expected.

In the demon's left hand, resting on its open palm, were seven brightly colored orbs.

Each orb was a different color: green, brown, black, purple, pink… and two red ones.

One of the reds was noticeably darker than the other.

William wasn't big into religion, but even he could recognize what this drawing was trying to depict.

The demon was clearly the Devil, and the seven orbs in his hand were meant to represent the Seven Deadly Sins.

Everyone knew about them — even if they didn't believe in them.

The streets were always filled with priests and preachers warning people that one day demons from Hell would descend into the world and destroy everything.

William usually ignored them. He didn't believe in that stuff.

But lately… he had started to doubt himself.

Strange events were happening more often — not just around him, but all over the world.

The number of cults had risen dramatically in the last decade, and the government had become very secretive about them. Any cults that got caught were never shown in the media. The official statements were vague and full of silence.

And then there were the victims.

People who had escaped or survived cult activity began coming forward with bizarre claims.

They all said the same thing: the cults were using powers from Hell.

At first, William didn't believe it.

But now the number of these victims had tripled in the last few months.

And more disturbingly, large groups of survivors — completely separated from each other — were telling the same exact story.

It was becoming harder and harder to call it a coincidence.

A seed of suspicion was growing in William's mind.

But he still couldn't bring himself to fully admit it — that all of this might be real.

Mainly for two reasons.

One: If Hell existed, then he was almost certain he'd end up there when he died — for reasons he didn't feel like thinking about.

Two: If Hell was real… and demons were really trying to enter the human world…

That was just too terrifying to accept.

As he stared at the drawing, thoughts buzzing through his mind, William eventually shook his head and snapped out of it.

"Focus. Just check the drawings, find the money, and get the hell out of this damned church."

But before he could analyze anything else…

He heard something.

A sound — faint, but close — echoing from the end of the dirt corridor.

William immediately turned his head toward the noise.

His eyes widened.

Standing motionlessly in the shadows was a figure draped in a black robe.

Most of their body was hidden by the darkness of the tunnel.

But one thing was clearly visible:

Their eyes.

Crimson, bloodshot eyes — staring into William's soul — with a wild, crazed expression burning inside them.

William didn't wait.

He gave one last glance at the two other drawings farther down the wall… and another quick look at the older symbols he already knew.

Then, without hesitation, he jumped onto the ladder with so much force that the metal groaned beneath him.

He began climbing as fast as his body could manage — heart racing, legs burning — desperate to escape.

_Chapter Ends_